29th December 2006
Eh, not so much
I recently descended on Osteria Basilico again for the first time in many years. From the outside, very little had changed. Same crowds, same queue (even during the week between Christmas and New Year), and pretty much the same menu. I remembered this place as being cosy yet lively, with very good food, and decent value for money.
Well, to be fair, maybe I'm what changed, but after my last visit, I was none too impressed. The food was respectable, but certainly nothing to write home about. I started with a beef carpaccio, which was ok but the beef lacked flavour. And I continued with grilled calamari, which was passable but over-spiced (not to mention over-small as far as the portion went).
The service was pleasant, if inattentive. The food was ok, if not great. The overall experience was, well, mediocre.
Which would be fine... except at 15-19 for mains, you don't have to go far to find better-than-mediocre Italian.
And I suppose that's precisely what I'd recommend that you do: go elsewhere, do better.